Deaths Gift
by WorldsNo1Actress
Summary: Summary: You never came. You never called. It was only fair after all.


* * *

Summary: You never came. You never called.

It was only fair after all.

Another little one shot, these are so much easier to write than the longer stories. : )

Death's Gift

Emily smiled up at her grandmother as she cuddled closer to her on the hard hospital bed. Sarah smiled as well, placing her frail arms around the small bundle. So much like her mother, Sarah mused. The same large brown all knowing eyes and the classic Pratchett mousy brown hair.

The two of them had been left alone; Sarah knew she was the last visitor. Or second to last there was time for one more. Though the nurses didn't know that. Sarah had memorised them perfectly as they'd left the room, sour thin Jill who had actually cracked a smile that morning on seeing Sarah and her husband together. Then there was good old Bev, black chocolate skin and just as sweet a personality. Bev was the best company Sarah could have asked for in her final days.

She was old, seventy years, not as long as some had but long enough for Sarah Pratchett. Somehow seventy always seemed right to her, why she wasn't sure but...

'At seventy you can still stand to look at me in the morning,' she'd teased to Richard her husband. Despite the years Sarah was old, but she wasn't weak. The stubborn headed girl, who had raced through a Labyrinth to rescue her baby brother and once smashed a burglar over the head with a wine bottle, was still there behind the soft green eyes.

The face that surrounded them was wrinkled and time worn but happy. Sarah had the mind of a woman who had gotten lucky in life (one of the best things was happily snuggled on her lap) and knew how to appreciate it. So before she died there was one last person to thank...

"I don't want you to go gran," a small voice murmured.

"Don't worry Peanut, just remember me and I always be around."

"Promise?"

The little girl whispered eyes wide. Sarah paused, she would be there because Emily would remember but she couldn't promise anything more.

"Of course, whenever you want to talk look into the mirror and imagine I'm there. Because should you need me I always will be."

"Should I need you," Emily repeated, and then she cuddled up against Sarah. Sarah lent back on the wall, she'd given up believing the aches would ever go away. They were a continuous thud throughout her tired old bones. Sarah was starting to feel tired again, her eyes dropping closed.

But she knew without understanding why that if she closed her eyes now she'd not be waking up. The idea of not waking up wasn't very terrifying to Sarah; it had been once but not now. Brushing her short wisps of grey hair that escaped forward behind her ear, Sarah gently nudged Emily off of her.

"Please go and find your mother Emily, and tell her the goblins are coming."

"The goblins are coming?" Emily asked confused. Sarah nodded perfectly serious, it was an old promise Sarah got her eldest daughter Harriet to swear to. It basically meant, 'I want to be alone, keep everyone away.'

Harriet often proved good to her word when Sarah had needed time to be alone; the password was more of an old joke. Harriet would probably tell Toby, he'd understand better than Harriet what she meant.

Emily however was oblivious and happily trotted out of the room to find her mother. Sarah smiled watching her go, wishing she'd closed the door. But there was no one around for the time being. Sarah considered for a moment getting up and closing it, but as she began to lean forward her muscles protested. Giving in Sarah slumped back again. Harriet would probably only give her half an hour at least, would that be enough? Would that be too much?

Sarah gave a dry chuckle, listen to me she mused I sound like a teenager again. She was nervous, the last person to say goodbye too. Sarah felt light headed. This was the last moment, the last thing she needed to do before she was ready to die. Looking down at her clasped wrinkled hands, Sarah carefully removed the gold band around her third finger. Learning over she placed it on the bedside table, with a satisfying twang. No ties, till death do us part.

Taking a deep breathe, Sarah readied herself, "Jareth...Goblin King."

Nothing happened.

And that was the point, always in the background there had been the noise, of people moving around, the cars on the road. But now there was a silence, something had changed. Sarah waited feeling a burst of impatience but also unable not to smile. Always one for the dramatics it was good to see that some things never changed.

It was evening outside, the sun casting its last hopeful razes through the window, it began to rain. Gentle autumn rain pattering against the window, the only noise Sarah could hear. Then the door closed...

Sarah turned away from the window hearing the click that sounded the door had locked itself.

He was there.

She could sense it; same as she knew this was her last day. Behind her, near the window waiting for her turn back to look at him. Sarah waited savouring the moment, just listening to the rain.

Then she turned to face him...

Jareth, the Goblin King.

The dying sun light made him glow as he stood before the window. His wild mane of blond hair alight, he was dressed in black leather, patterned with red thread drawn in thousands of designs across the whole outfit. It fit like a glove against his healthy body. He wore the same knee height boots, and as Sarah drank in the sight of him she realised that he had not aged a day. The shapely carved features were unwrinkled and as well defined as they had been over half a centaury ago.

His face held the same expressionless look as he had wore on their first meeting, and the two eyes, one a soft sky blue on a cloudless day and the other a burning brown, watched her.

He raised a delicate eyebrow at her, "You wait till the end to summon me."

"I never had the nerve before," Sarah answered, she felt oddly warm being in his presence again. Like being in the presence of a God, joy at the privilege of the meeting but a constant awareness that you are both and less and more than what they are. Sarah had always thought that way about the two of them, equal. Not the same but one just as strong as the other.

"What is it you want Sarah?" Jareth interrupted her thoughts; a crystal ball appeared suddenly within his fingers. He rolled it around in the palm of his hands without having to look at it. His miss-matched eyes always on Sarah's green ones. He still wore the black leather gloves, they completed his attire, Sarah mused before speaking.

"I owe you a thank you. And goodbye," her heart was beating faster in her chest as he continued to watch her. She felt less tired, more awakened in his presence, though she'd expected as much.

"Little Sarah grew up," was all he said, but the emotion on his face was softer. He looked at her with a fondness that one would give to a favourite student. Though there was more behind his eyes than that.

"I never congratulated you. The only human ever to successfully complete my Labyrinth, charming her way through almost every obstacle I set in her path-"

"I thought the civil tone would vanish quickly," Sarah interrupted.

"Your ability to argue has improved considerably. I remember most of your come backs just consisted of it's not fair or something similar."

"We've barely even started yet. I look old enough to be your mother and if I was. There are several things I'd love to improve about your choice of clothes."

Despite the words, neither of them felt any venom or hatred towards the other. It was a jousting between old friends...

She was lying about the clothing, they suited him. The elegant manor that he naturally portrayed was complemented by the glittering array he wore. He was handsome, devilishly so.

He sat down on the bed beside her a crooked grin that Sarah had seen before spreading across his features.

"I'd be happy to hear your thoughts," he teased reaching out and stroking her hair. They'd never touched before, perhaps once in the peach dream but that was a spell. Not the reality. Sarah was accurately aware of the soft velvet feel of his gloved fingers gently tracing her features. His eyes dark, unblinking. The moment felt important, the air suddenly thicker for her already tiring lungs.

"I am an old woman, Jareth," Sarah murmured, unable to keep away the smile that was gracing her features again; as he stroked her face carefully with the back of his hand.

"You think your age ever protected you from me Sarah?" His voice was darker, a bitterness creeping into it that he gave up trying to conceal.

Sarah turned her eyes down, not wanting the added pressure of his eyes that saw right through her.

"I made my choice along time ago and I am living and dying with it Jareth. There is no point resurrecting old memories or old desires."

"Some desires never grow old Sarah. This is not how it should have been." At that Sarah snapped her head up and glared at him, suddenly 15 years old again.

"I would choose Toby any day. He deserved-"

"A life among mortals? A short brief moment in the history of time lacking the real fulfilment he desired? His sister sacrificing the magical world she was born to join in favour of being alone? Do you really feel you _deserved _such a fate that you cast upon the two of you?"

Sarah had no answer, she was instead mesmerised by his passionate eyes. The ability to lie abandoned her.

He looked satisfied, "Sometimes it's not all about winning Sarah-"

"That is very rich coming from you," Sarah replied curtly.

"I've taught you many a lesson Sarah. One more won't change much," was Jareth's smooth response.

Old age returned to Sarah like a well worn cloak, her sudden energy vanishing. Sarah groaned feeling oddly cold. Jareth face became one filled with worry. He embraced her; the intimacy of the hug surpassed even the most vigorous sex Sarah had ever experienced. I'm in the arms of the Goblin King, Sarah thought dreamily.

She rested he head on his shoulder, fitting comfortably into his arms. Jareth pressed his face into her hair and purred her name, like a soft chant over and over again. 'My precious Sarah.' For awhile that was the only sound, moving in harmony with the soft pitter patter of the rain outside.

"Jareth," she whispered as her eyes began to close off their own accord, "don't leave me."

"Never," he promised, gently brushing his lips against her forehead. Sarah wasn't too old to feel wonderful warmth at the sensation of his lips on her skin. She held him as tight as her tired muscles allowed, face buried into his shoulder. She breathed deeply in his scent, committing the experience to memory. It would be the last thing she felt. The last moment she had in life, the last chance to say things which would otherwise never be said.

"I love you," she whispered quietly her voice only just audible above the rain.

"It was safer, easy to forget you. Richard was my best friend; he was safe, easier to love. Though I never left the Labyrinth completely. My friends still came; Toby will probably introduce them to Emily one day. They'll like her. She'll like them." Talking was difficult, and Sarah knew she was blabbering but she suddenly felt the pressure of time. The lack of it, how all the thoughts within her head must be spoken simply because she still had the chance to speak.

"Hush," Jareth breathed against her ear as he stroked her hair.

"I'll keep an eye on her," he vowed. Sarah gave a throaty chuckle.

"Then in years to come fall deeply in love with her? That's usually how the story goes," Sarah teased but Jareth pulled her head off his shoulder. She missed the warmth instantly; he stared deep into her eyes, silencing anything else she may have said.

"There's only one person I will ever love Sarah. I have never seen her equal and probably never shall," the sincerity of his words brought tears to Sarah eyes. He gently cupped her face, brushing the tears away with his thrums.

"You never came," Sarah whispered, her vision blurring his beautiful features.

"You never summoned me, I can come when I'm called not otherwise," he sounded sad, a deep sorrow that filled the room.

"I was afraid you might come after Toby again," he huffed at her suggestion, "Alright then. I was afraid. Of you, of how I felt about you. Of being too tempted by what I knew you'd offer me. Toby and I don't belong -"

"Lie to yourself Sarah but not to me," he cut across curtly.

"Toby deserved a choice," Sarah feebly countered but her arguments were weakening. Toby was getting well into his fifties and she knew even as she spoke that he would have loved to live in the Labyrinth. He summoned Hoggle, Didymus and Ludo often, always curious as to what was happening in the Underground. If he had been given the chance to make his own choice...

"You played the heroine Sarah. You grew up, earned a deep love for your brother but robbed him of a world he would have chosen. And robbed me of you."

He gave a majestic shrug, "You won and you lost."

"Won the battle but lost the war," Sarah muttered, and then she yawned. God, she felt tired, so very tired and old, very old.

She made to lean forward and enter back into his embrace. However Jareth stopped her, "Do you regret it?"

"Age has its values. One gives up regret, I made my choice. It was the wrong choice all the same. I have been happy; I have lived a long life. But I lacked you, well met my beloved enemy."

Then carefully she lent forward and kissed his cheek, enjoying the strange release it brought.

"My Goblin King, my Jareth," she murmured against his skin.

"My Sarah," he responded, and then he slides his fingers into her hair and tilted her head. So he could rest his lips against hers. A chaste first and last kiss. Sarah pressed herself close to him, drowning in the moment. Wishing she had more energy to kiss him properly back. But she was spent, her seconds ticking quickly away, she savoured the last moment. They broke away and she rested her head back on his shoulder, drifting peacefully into deep sleep, and for the first time feeling truly happy.

* * *

Her heart beat was steady, slow and continuous beneath his fingertips. But it wouldn't last.

Jareth sighed and gripped her hand; her skin was becoming colder beneath his touch. He had removed his gloves to enjoy what warmth remained. His Sarah...

She should have summoned him, and then they could have been together. They could have been happy, complete. He wouldn't have had to steal brief moments of watching her.

_I was afraid. _

He admitted quietly to himself that he had felt the same. Fifty four years and she was still an obsession, he had attempted to hate her when patience ran out. To forgot and move on but hate was still a passion. Just as fierce as love, it was love turned backwards and always it was her face that haunted him.

The fear however had come when he'd realised that he would not interferer. Jareth had wanted her to call him of her own accord, her own wish. When ever he'd desire something or someone before he'd done all within his power to make them his own. With Sarah such tactics failed, he'd never been able to bring himself to act. To force her to speak his name or to stop her friends from coming and taking their place...

The wish not to upset her had made him afraid because it wasn't like him. It wasn't who he was and yet that was what he had done.

Jareth laid his head down beside Sarahs; he refused to think of anything other than the hand he held. The hospital was darker, at least an hour had past. The door remained locked and un findable by any human. Anyone who came looking for Sarah's door would only find a wall. Jareth had promised to wait till Death came for Sarah and so he would. The wait wouldn't be long, Death would be here soon.

Jareth contented himself with watching Sarah.

She was the same height as she had always been; her face was wrinkled particularly around the eyes. The hair that had once been a dark brown was now a light grey and fell just to her shoulders. Her chest was gently rising and falling as she sunk deeper into eternal sleep. Jareth carefully pulled the covers up around to her shoulders. It wouldn't be long...

Jareth keen senses picked up the change, he's here he mused.

"Good evening," Jareth greeted pulling himself up to look at the figure across the bed. The room was dark but both conscious occupants had no need for light to see by.

GOOD EVENING came the reply. Death stood calmly by Sarah's side, in the classic form of a skeleton dressed in long black following robes. In the eyes sockets of the skull two bright blue fires burned intensely and elegantly held in his left hand was a long sith.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE SEEN ONE OF THE FAE.

"I promised to wait," Jareth responded answering the unasked question. It was difficult for a skull to show expression but Death's face seemed to soften, and even smile. The two great beings waited in silence, Jareth turned his face back to his beloved Sarah. Her last few moments were his; he could claim that at least.

SHE SHOULD NOT DIE LIKE THIS.

Jareth started from his own thoughts and looked back up at Death, a frown knotting across his face. What did he mean? One of the fires in Death eye socket went out, making him appear to wink.

SARAH THE LABYRINTH CHAMPION SHOULD NOT DIE LIKE THIS.

Jareth considered the possibility that he'd misunderstood, and then he ignored it. Scooping up Sarah's frame into his arms he turned away from Death towards the window. He stepped forward allowing the sharp tug to pull him back to the Underground. The transportation was instant, and there they were. Jareth didn't worry about Death. Death could follow him anywhere.

It was night in the Underground; huge shadows twisting throughout the great stone structure. He stood upon the hill, a gentle wind wiping up the sand and blowing Sarah's grey tendrils of hair across her face. A small smile spread across his features.

"Welcome home Sarah," She stirred with a few last seconds of life. But her eyes didn't open; he felt a spark pang in his chest as her heart stopped. It was the loss of a sound, the end completely.

Silently tears traced down Jareths face, flowing faster and faster. He pressed his forehead against hers. She was gone, for ever out of his reach. The pain was instant, agonising.

Death was by his side again, a cold hand was placed on his shoulder. Jareth turned towards Death, a small emotion of hate burning in the back of his mind. But it faded quickly it was not Death fault, he simply was.

SHALL I TAKE HER BACK?

Jareth's mismatched eyes drifted back to the body in his arms. The body, he thought dryly, of Sarah Prachett. The idea of letting Sarah go stung, he'd just got her back. For a few brief moments in time he had stolen her back. Then with a feeling of gratitude he passed Death Sarah's body.

He could not return without being summoned, her family would want to be able to put her body to rest. The tears were blurring his vision; he didn't say anything as Death held Sarah, not trusting his voice. The wind was picking up now, his pain leaking out throughout his kingdom. A storm was coming, Jareth needed to mourn. But he would wait, privacy was needed first. Death hadn't left yet infact he had a strange smile across his features. The Goblin King waited.

I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU GOBLIN KING.

That surprised him, Jareth stared as Death still cradling Sarah held out a small round crystal sized thing in his hand. Jareth felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips, the irony of the situation certainly wasn't lost on him...

It was a door knob, the one from Sarah's hospital door.

Jareth took it, and then gave a respectful nod, "Till we meet again."

Death made no reply and was gone.

Jareth breathed out allowing his self control to vanish. The storm gripped the Labyrinth, and it's King stood outside its gates, getting soaking wet.

He had lived without her before, he knew the pain would never pass but it would become easier to bear. The Goblin King heavily sank down onto the sodden wet sand. He would watch Emily, that was his final promise to Sarah he would keep that at least. His tears joined the thundering rain as another wave of pain escaped him.

Death padded quickly through his kitchen. He didn't see why he couldn't do this. After all, he'd promised the Goblin King a gift. He loved her after all, that had been love hadn't it?

So why not? Albert would probably have something to say about it, Susan as well. But they weren't going to find out. He clutched in his hand the hourglass of Sarah Prachett as he entered the Room of Lifetimers.

He was greeted by the familiar hiss of sand of millions of hourglasses, and the little pings and pops as full ones vanished and new one's appeared. He set off among the selves before he could change his mind.

He checked several of the new hourglasses appearing, one after the other. Then he found a perfect one.

Yanking the top of Sarah Prachett's hourglass he poured a bit of the content into a newly made hourglass.

The label read Jennifer Sarah Feeley.

PERFECT

Reincarnation was possible after all and just this once...

Death reasoned that it was only this once, the Goblin King would know. A gift for the gift giver, Death would give Jareth his dream. That was only fair after all.

* * *

Yes it has been done. But I like to do a few classic pieces of work now and then. There is no plan to continue this piece. It's a stand alone fix but I might work on it again a bit later…

I'll see.

Review!


End file.
